The head of U.S. special operations has contacted members of the covert Navy SEAL team that killed Osama bin Laden to reconfirm some details of the al Qaeda leader's last moments conveyed in a new book, and military officials have concluded the author's account was not accurate, CNN has learned.

Adm. William McRaven took the extraordinary action more than a year after the May 2011 raid in Pakistan in response to "No Easy Day," authored by former SEAL Matt Bissonnette, who tells about his participation in the operation.

In a dramatic passage, Bissonnette said that bin Laden was on the floor when he and other SEALs entered his room in the safe house in Abbottabad, having been shot by another SEAL when he had peeked his head into the hall as the team approached.

Bin Laden's body lay at the foot of the bed, twitching and convulsing, the book said, adding that the SEALs, including the author, shot him again until he was motionless.

That account differs from what U.S. officials have said publicly since the raid.

McRaven, the head of U.S. Special Operations Command, went back to the team - including the lead SEAL, or "point man" - in recent days to make sure Bissonnette did not have any information they did not know about.

Senior Pentagon officials, who declined to speak for attribution because of the sensitivity of the matter, told CNN they have now concluded Bissonnette was wrong.

Bin Laden, they said, was standing in the room when the SEALs entered and they shot him, believing he posed a direct threat, given there were weapons in the room.

Although bin Laden was unarmed, the SEALs had encountered hostile fire in the house before entering his room and he showed no signs of surrendering.

The officials CNN spoke with said it was possible Bissonnette, who was a few seconds behind the lead SEAL, never saw bin Laden standing.

It is not clear from accounts already made public if the initial shots fired by the lead SEAL - when bin Laden looked out of the room - actually hit him. One Navy official told CNN the belief is those shots missed.

Another passage causing concern in the Pentagon has been the fate of the only U.S. soldier from the war in Afghanistan currently held captive.

The parents of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl were briefed on Thursday by the military about the book's contents because it contains several pages in which the author says he was on a secret mission to rescue their son.

US Army Col. Timothy Marsano, the military liaison to the family, confirmed to CNN that the Bergdahls know about the passages and are declining to comment publicly.

The book has triggered a firestorm of controversy over the author's decision to detail the bin Laden raid. Pentagon officials are also concerned that any discussion of Bergdahl, who was captured in 2009, could put him at risk.
Military officials have privately said for some time that they believe he is being held in Pakistan by members of the Haqqani network, but have not discussed details because he is still a captive.

"We are still searching for Bowe Bergdahl and any public discussion of our ongoing efforts is not helpful," one senior U.S. official said.

This official, who also spoke on the condition of not being identified, and others said the concern is insurgents might learn any detail from the book about hostage rescue techniques.

Several military officials have told CNN there was never sufficient intelligence about Bergdahl's location to mount a full rescue attempt although they conducted many searches inside Afghanistan.

But Bissonnette said there was a tip Bergdahl might be in a compound south of Kabul about a month after Bergdahl was captured and a mission ensued.

After a firefight, Bissonnette says "there was no sign of Bergdahl, but we figured he had to be somewhere nearby. There were too many fighters here, and they were well armed."

The sad thing is that the response to this is sheer ignorance. We, as "a people" of the United States elected the officials to make and execute actions in our name. As to whether or not "it" did not happen according to your, or their book of hoyle is irrelevant. I for one can only say, as a voting member of this country, "I am satisfied that the goal of deleting this particular threat to the way of life we believe in". The rest is opinion and show. The real terrorism is felt now, the fraction of our nation as a whole. E pluribus unum: Latin for "Out of many, one", which is what this country was founded on, let us try to remember that.

I think waterboarding goes against the Geneva Convention, considered as torture. Just because Bush and crew think they can legally snake their way out of a treaty....

Nothing changed for me, I was against it then as now, regardless Bush or Obama. Want to get out of a treaty, repeal it through the senate.

As for torture, you may claim you are a christian, but if you are ok with it, you are not. Try another religion, or start one that is able to make torture a god given right.

Lights going out in Republistan, you better go to bed.

September 7, 2012 at 9:57 pm |

GrampaSez

Mr Bissonnette can get a reputable and impartial company to give him a polygraph, with members of the media present, if he is sincere. If he was a seal, he can protect himself. And if he's truth-telling, and he cares about getting his story out, there are ways to deal with the small stuff. I hope his book is legitimate, but it won't be in the reading, but in what happens next, that will tell us the facts of the matter.

04.13:55 the Copper touches down just inside the compound ...
04.14:05 Obama jumps out, leading the Seal Team 6 ....
04.14:06 through 04.20:054 it's a ferocious firefight ensues ...bombs , garnades, bullets flying all around ....
04.25:00 Team Obama makes it's way up the stairs where their target sets....
04.25:34 suddenly a burst of Blop Blop and it's over....their target "GERONAMO" has been taken out ...
04.28:26 off to the waiting Chopper and back to the CVN-71 for Ben's cleaning before being feed to the fishes .....EPA Rules you know....Don't POLLUTE.

Obama catches the Blk-Bird back to the Whitehouse where Mooschell awaits and Presents him the CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR for a JOB WELL DONE.

This Is Wolf Blitzin signing off on this INCREDIBLE STORY OF COURAGE, That you Mr. PRESIDENT, JOB WELL DONE.

Did anyone notice the Marxist Socialist Christopher Hitchens in the background? It's almost as if he is saying " Capitalism, Ha! see what happens!" Get it together people, tell the story however you want just make sure its screened properly first.

Wait. Let me get this straight – The U.S. Navy subsidizes and makes available all of their resources, assets, and actual SEALs to make what is ostensibly (they admitted as much) a recruiting film called "Act of Valor" that shows WAY more than what's in this book (I read it already) and they're concerned? Seriously? I hate politicians.

So, you think the Whitehouse and Leon Panetta have NOTHING to do with this? The book and the Pentagon differ by a matter of "did OBL die standing up 'fighting' or did he die with a whimper" That's the best they can come up with? If you want to keep the terrorists happy you'll tell them the best thing you can – "Oh, OBL? Um, yeah, he died fighting to the end. Please leave us alone now." There are other SEALs making campaign ads thrashing Obama then this book comes out.

Keep telling yourself whatever you want.

September 7, 2012 at 9:26 pm |

Bazoing

Yes, the pentagon and the military are extreme politicians. It is so extreme that officers who do not entertain enough do mot get many promotions. This is indeed the real world.

September 7, 2012 at 9:28 pm |

firewalker

The Book would have never been written if "TEAM OBAMA" had kept their BIG FAT FOOKING MOUTHS SHUT.

The plan was to take old Bin out NO DISCUSSIONS TO ANYONE "TOP SECRET" MISSION all the way....leave the World and his followers in the dark as to where Bin was or what has happen to him.Bin's network would have been in shambles due to his disappearance,but no TEAM OBAMA OUT TO MAKE OBAMA LOOK LIKE A HERO for his re-election.

Whitehouse ....................."IT NEVER HAPPENED".....NOT OUR CHOPPER...........FOX NEWS IS LYING AGAIN

September 7, 2012 at 9:27 pm |

DC1973

firewalker, and if it had been FoxNews threatening to break the story, they might have tried it. But most people believe the AP.

September 7, 2012 at 9:31 pm |

GrampaSez

The WHITE HOUSE ran to the PRESS BECAUSE they "HAD TO"? SMH – LIBS.

September 7, 2012 at 9:33 pm |

Monica Bosse

Obama had to say something because a chopper went down? Do you really think you've heard of every instance of a chopper going down in these wars? Seriously? Obama announced the death of OBL because it made his presidency look good. Period. "I gave the order" "I authorized" "I determined"...all about the POTUS. You would think HE had an AK strapped to his chest.

September 7, 2012 at 11:42 pm |

Risky

This would make a good movie; a man exposing the truth (not that we will ever know if Mat is really telling the truth) imprisoned by his former line of work; breaks out and battles against his former colleagues. Matt Bissonnette played by actor Denzel Washington in the upcoming movie "Safe House."

What difference does it make? Bin Laden was wounded and then killed a few second later when they entered the room or he wasn't wounded, just killed a few second later when they entered the room. EIther way, mission accomplished. Those SEALs are heroes that need wheelbarrows to carry their sacks around and if the mission had failed the Repubs would be blaming Obama over it until the cows came home (see Jimmmy Carter's hostage rescue attempot) so since it did work he gets the credit.

Every penny this books makes should go to a fund to help veterans. As a retired SGM I am disgusted that this man broke his sacred trust. If even one person is hurt because of his greed, and there will be: he should be tried for treason. We who served, I with two tours in Vietnam, prostate cancer, heart attack, etc. from Agent Orange did so for America

And of course you know what everyone else said because Obama's hack said so.

September 7, 2012 at 9:21 pm |

DC1973

Robert, Admiral McRaven is a SEAL, too. He's been heavily involved in the US counter-terrorism operations since 2001, and he was unanimously confirmed by the Senate as both a 4-star admiral and the of Commander of USSOCOM.

Republicans love this guy, too. Writing him off as "Obama's hack" is more than a little shortsighted, don't you think?

Pentagon had to doublecheck?
Leon Panchetta lost his notes when he sat on his pizza.
What a laugh.
Just as funny as Bill Clinton boasting about Bin Ladens death under Obama.
Bill Clinton was busy shootin rounds into Monica but missed that Osama guy?
Oooops 3000 US citizens dead!
What a bunch of mind numbed libs.......they never step out of the Washington "box".

"The concern is insurgents might learn any detail from the book about hostage rescue techniques."
That is, obviously, a very distressing potential.

Could the author be tried? Is that a possibility?
If we're going after Julian Assange so vigorously, not to mention how we're torturing Bradley Manning, why is this author freely allowed to disperse sensitive info?
Hypocrisy?

I think it is so funny, people on here think this book was written without approval from higher. they made a movie about SEALS with approval from higher. Anybody in the Special forces, SEALs will tell you they are hurting for people. These are all tools to recurit new people. Not to mention real forces are downsizing and the new wars will be fought by operators not large forces. Look at Africia anybody there will tell you small units is the way of the future and you need to fill those ranks. What better tool then getting the media involved to spread the word, with budget cuts it is free advertising. I for one have no problem with this book, if it was that bad this dude would have been locked up along time ago or would have disappeared long before this book came out.

Good K I L L anyway you look at it.........................as far as OUR TODAY'S Government under the amateur leader Obama well that's another story..................nothing but CORRUPTION straight out of CHICAGO. Obama couldn't make a pimple on a REAL LEADERS AZZ.

Right as opposed to you...lol .he is President of the United States and you are the leader of the ignorant. As a matter of fact. Given this posting, I would not be surprised if you are not nominated as "poster Child" of the Ignorant by your peers.

And Obama has some people convinced that he's the only President that could have made the call for Bin Laden to be taken out....at least that what I got by listening to him during the Democratic National Convention. I find it amazing that he seemed to sell it that way. Any elected president would have made the same call. It took years of research and working with informants to find out where he was. I congratulate the DoD, CIA, ALL Military branches and especially the SEALS for finding him and taking him out...and yes, I do congratulate Obama for giving the order...but I do not congratulate Obama for selling Bin Laden's death as a defining moment in his term.

How can you be so inanely jealous? You're talking about our President!
He did an amazing job, where his predecessor failed miserably.
This is not a game. Put your partisan knives away. This is the wrong place for that crap.
Let this be the one subject that's taken out of the playground, alright?

Every penny this books makes should go to a fund to help veterans. As a retired SGM I am disgusted that this man broke his sacred trust. If even one person is hurt because of his greed, and there will be: he should be tried for treason. We who served, I with two tours in Vietnam, prostate cancer, heart attack, etc. from Agent Orange did so for America.

"A.M. radio talk shows,...lmao.. now that is a good one. I'm quite certain it will go completely over the heads of those it is directed to however.

September 7, 2012 at 9:13 pm |

Jerry Stirewalt

Believe the accounting of it or not....for a SEAL to reveal anything is TREASON. He put every fellow SEAL member present, and thier families lives in danger. As an former member of the Navy, I find it distressing and appalling

The Brass is just mad at him for writing the book. They will stop at nothing to either ruin him or punish him, in any way they can. Pfff, would't put much into what they say, since when has the Pentagon been honest with any of us.

"Oath." Remember that concept? Has to do with personal honor and integrity, hear of those either? It has been 50 years since I served, and the oath still applies. This opportunist apparently is just in it for the money... and, considering the timing of the book, I wonder if this is just another "swift-boating" attempt, co-written by some schmuck who wasn't even there.

Most likely the SEALs had orders to take Bin Laden alive, if possible, and they shot him anyways. Remember when the SEALs captured the terrorist responsible for the Black Water troop mutilations and our idiot in chief charged them with assault for "Ruffing him up"...

Who cares about the rade the hole world knows it happend that's old news. Tho how it exactly happend should be keped secrit. The facked that it hapend dusnt mater . But if thay will tell use I want to hear about the stelth helicopters thay used. How did thay quiet the bufiding noise???

Too bad the whole thing was a farce. OBL died a long time ago. Now the Brits are sending Harry off to die in another mysterious helicopter crash in Afghanistan. A little of the ol' Diana treatment for a guy that isn't Charles' son. Wow...did I cram enough tin foil info in there? lol

If its true that the author is donating all of the profits from the book I congratulate him. I hope that he isn't donating the most of the profits and making money other ways through endorsements, appearances or other related work. It appears based upon some of the comments that this is a distinct possibility.

While it is difficult to believe that Seal's would miss a shot at such close range and the author's account rings true it seems more than a bit odd that he would accuse his fellow seals of shooting an unarmed man in a defenseless position. Where it seems the author may have gotten it wrong was in accusing his brethren.

For those of you that argue that OBL deserved it, I agree. However if it wasn't wrong to do it that way, then why all the hub-bub? If it was morally and legally defensible to kill OBL the way the author says it was done why is this even a big deal? It's a big deal because the author knows that there are those amongst us that would object to such methods and that the legality of them may be questionable. Since that is the case, his code of honor would require him not to "rat-out" his brothers in arms. His profiting directly, or indirectly from being a whistle blower, not inaccuracy is his failing.

Is he a hero for exposing something that may have been wrong? Perhaps but not if he is being paid and based upon what I have read it appears that while he is donating most of the profits, it may not be all of them. He and the guys that went into that house know the truth about what happened and if he is a profiteer or hero.

If the members of his team still respect him then so do I, if they don't then how can any of us?

Thank god they got rid of this monster. He killed thousands of our innocent people working at their jobs. He just finished him off, he was going to die anyway. Good riddance. Just got the book today so will read it in the next week.

I have read Peter Bergen's book and am reading this account. I don't see what this Seal would have to gain by fabricating. I understand the tradition of the quiet warrior, but in today's information and celebrity age, someone is going public. And certain interests were already using the narrative for their own benefit in this political season.

not as bad as that little embarrassing "Mission Accomplished" thing now is it? You see there is a ring of truth to Bin Laden being dead.. "Mission Accomplished"? lmao,, you tools kill me with your memory lapses while throwing stones.

The only people who believe the Bib Laden death story are people who spend all day watching the news and reading politics. People who aren't conditioned by tv and the media don't buy this stuff for a second.

So true there is no way they shot him them dumped his body in the ocean. They have never done that. Look at Hussein they even took him out then hung him. No way they dump the nations most wanted mans body in the ocean. His family owns like 10% of america's economy. Notice how most of the seals of that team which went into Osamas room are dead?

And this is what we are wasting our time on? Some guy wrote a book about the events he experienced. Who Cares? If the DoD got this involved with higher priority things, then maybe this country wouldn't suck so much to live in.

Dude, I hope you're being sarcastic, because you're not contributing anything at all to the Seals. You're contributing to one man's quest for fame and MONEY. Personally, I refuse to buy this book because like another comment stated: WHO CARES. I really couldn't care less about the details of the raid. They got rid of Osama, just let it be and GO ON.

The guy just want to get paid you know. This economy is not helping so why get mad at the guy who just want to get paid? If this economy is booming. Plus, what's the difference between the Navy SeAL who was in that raid and the Democrats who leak sensitive information? Don't even say why gotta be Democrats... Who is the President of this country?

I believe Bissonnette's account of what happened. You know our government's gonna sugar coat it. Either way, Bin Laden is dead and we went to war with a country that had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11. Amen and pass the biscuits...

None, because they don't exist. Politifact did an excellent breakdown of the series of events we can confirm, and
1. Found no evidence that the doctor was "outed" by Americans,
2. Found good evidence that the doctor was warned to get out by Americans,
and
3. Found good evidence the Pakistanis identified him themselves. The death of Bin Laden kind of got their attention and made them start asking questions.

Grandpasez, you cling to your fantasy. Get a couple more just in case it doesn't work out, like OBL has been dead for 10 years, OBL works for the CIA and is not dead, OBL IS president Barrack Obama. Better, believe them as equally true and do not contradict How is the weather in Republistan? Forgot?

September 7, 2012 at 8:57 pm |

DC1973

You mean the one taken by the official White House photographer and released by the White House?

Yeah, I mean the OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PHOTO (with the awareness that it is the Commander in Chief WHO DECIDES what is secret and what is not. It was neo-con sarcasm, assuming I was in the company of adults...

September 7, 2012 at 9:21 pm |

Mike Walsh

Whatever happened to our military code and our SEALs. Is this not suppose to be our elite group in the military that should keep operations from ever getting out into the public, regardless if made up names were used in the book. In my mind this Seal is not a true Seal and a traitor to be quite honest. The military is also responsible and needs to tighten up regulations and training of our most elite forces.

Being a SEAL or member of any elite U.S. Military Force does not necessarily mean that greed is not also a trait. This book was written to make money and has little to do with the truth or honor among fighting men.

The Seal who sold out is a greedy EX-SEAL who's lost my respect for selling out. He KNEW it would happen and don't care. Now, he's also been called a liar. So, instead f being a hero in my eyes, he's now a traitor plus liar – all for money. I hope he's happy with his NEW reputation. I'll not buy his book.

This is why I subscribe to all these conspiracy theories. I don't believe we faked the moon landing, or have aliens in Area 51. Oswald shot JFK. Nobody knocked down the Twin Towers in NYC, except for a bunch of crazy Muslim fanatics.
Do you know why I don't believe in any of it?? Because in today's day and age, no one can KEEP THEIR MOUTH SHUT long enough to keep a conspiracy going.

Even if someone spilled the beans, all you have to do is delay them, discredit them and people believe the the blitz
of the mass media. When it's too far out like a faked moon landing, that's on the far side of the dubious spectrum.

If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.
Adolf Hitler

now add that lie/lies to mass media and you get a mass amount of sheeple believing the lie.. its not that hard to understand...well.... then again..... read half the post on here and other media sites and it may be possible that most don't 😀

Of course the Pentagon is correct, just like the FBI is correct..... that 12 million Apple consumers info was not breached. Next up... the Romney tax forms – only a million dollars ransom???? Romney carries that kinda change around in his pocket!

That SEAL team is supposed to be sworn to secrecy and if I remember right they are not supposed to say anything to anybody about it so why is this Bissonette dude; a member of this SEAL team writing a book about it??

So, he's not making any money off of it. And I have a bridge to sell you from Maui to San Diego. Ridiculous. He's donating some of the "profits". Pennies. Nickels. How much of the profit? Has he said. Of course not. He's boasting that he shot him ... how sad. Just do your job. Quit the bravado.

If you have read the article (although frankly the CNN article does not have the details that other sites have), it says that they consulted with the rest of the SEAL team to figure out which part of the story was true or false. It's the rest of the SEAL team that is making the claim the book is false. The proper channel for SEAL communication to the public is through the Pentagon.

1) The admiral in the article made his staements after consulting with the team leader who was in charge during the raid, so I am sure he knows more than Bisonette.
2) What does any of this have to do with protecting Obama? He claimed bin laden is dead, and that is true.

Putting all this into perspective, controversy sells. All of the backlash that this author is getting for having written this book only causes other curiousity seekers to find out what the commotion is all about. The joke is on everybody who is trying to keep this book out of the limelight.

Dollars to donuts the lead seal was wearing a webcam in his helmet that recorded the whole incident. You think the Pentagon gonna (1) admit that such a camera exists and (2) release the video anytime soon? NO WAY

"Bin Laden, they said, was standing in the room when the SEALs entered and they shot him, believing he posed a direct threat, given there were weapons in the room."

Were any of those weapons not in the hands of the SEALs?

I daresay I'm not alone in thinking from the beginning that the whole "The SEALs felt threatened because there were guns in the vicinity" claim was BS. If Mark Owen's version of events is accurate, it seems pretty petty to attack his credibility just to maintain a story that served little purpose in the first place. I doubt news of OBL's death would have been received much differently even if he'd been shot with his hands tied behind his back.

The only thing this is is a bunch of nonsense to discredit the new book, nothing more. We will see many other stories just like this with "official" information that counters the book. It's already well-known they don't want to book to go out and they've tried to legally block it without success. This is plan B...we'll all see more.

I'm happy that Bin Laden has been killed. I do not care. Is anybody thinking of his victims? And I do not care of Bin Laden not because he was a Muslim, I respect all the Religions of the entire world, but because all his victims were normal people, at work or commuting from work to home or vice versa, people that had families, wives, husband, kids, etc.
I know that there are other dozens of Bin Laden out there, but he was an icon and he needed to be destroyed.
If you are so sick not to agree just because you are a Republican and not a Democrat, it means that in this country we have no more morality.

It is sad that greed so infects every corner of our society and we have people who will do or say anything to make a dollar even when they have to lie or to make themselves look or powerful or fast or smart of know all the facts.

It is just as bad when the greed also involves those who print books and make movies to get in on the greed that they will expose others to dangers and even give our enemies some possible insight into how our operations come about and carried out by reading between the lines for our enemies do somewhat the same thing and knows the ins and outs of this kinds of operations and also can add 2 plus 2 equals 4..
Those who do things to fill their pockets also care little about those held in captivity, their only concern is to fill their pockets and will do anything it takes to do that.

Bissonnette signed a contract which binds him to secrecy. This means he is not to say anything – true or false – about his work as a Nave Seal. Period. He is in violation of this agreement. He needs to be arrested, tried and jailed for a long time so he will be an example to others who have top secret clearance. Since the matter is secret, the government can neither confirm nor deny the details outlined in the book. We will never know what happened until the official records are released many decades from now. That is how top secret information is handled. Period. End of story. Bissonnette is a shameless profiteer.

The non-disclosure, if you read it, does not allow him to speak of anything that will affect national security or give away any trade secrets etc. etc. There is not one thing in that book that you can not find on any military enthusiast website online. He was very careful to only mention well known weaponry and tactics. If he had actually violated the ND, he would have been arrested already – you can be sure of that.

All I remember is people jumping from the Twin Towers and that SOB got off easy. I'll buy the book and hopefully they shot a video of it I'd buy that also, God Bless our Military and God Bless America !!

First and foremost, the author is NOT profiting from this book. The profits are going to the Fallen Seal Fund. So all of you who say he is lying for profit are full of crap. SECOND. This man is Seal and not any Seal, but a senior member of the elite Seal Team 6 and he was present at the killing of OBL. He has no reason to lie but everything to lose if DC comes down on his butt for revealing the truth. Our Goverment, on the other hand, has every reason to make the the killing sound as PC as possible. THIRD. Anyone who actually believes that a member of Seal Team 6 would miss a shot at close quarters, as this article states, is smoking something funny. These are the best of the best, folks. THEY DO NOT MISS (remember the whole Somolia Pirate incident?) And lastly, for those of you who are offended that he mentioned an attempted rescue of Sgt. Bergdahl in 2009 – you should know that the entire US Military has been and will continue to search for him. No breach of confidentiality there. Even the bad guys know we are looking for our own and this book will not put the man in any more danger than he is already in. The only reason for notifiying his family prior to the book release is because they didn't know about the near miss in locating the man. Get a grip people and read the damn book before spout stupidity.

Probably little if anything. The news shows do not pay for interviews and there isn't exactly a speaking circuit for an ex-seal like there is for an ex-addict.

September 7, 2012 at 8:24 pm |

JK

Ya, let's just forget about the understanding that all. almost all, SEAL's have...their missions are NOT to be discussed with civilians. so, if he isn't doing it for the money and he already said over and over again that it is not a political message, then there is no reason to write this book....except?...oh wait...he already said it isn't political...so there is no reason at all...unless there is some money to be had, or...he has a political agenda...or he just loves the attention. Really doesn't reflect well on the Navy's Special Ops.

He actually said he was writing it to set the record straight. In this day and age of political corruption, that doesn't sound so off to me.

September 7, 2012 at 8:55 pm |

JK

Ah, yes the record straight...and the fact that he WASN't the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in the room and the fact that his commanding officer (be careful now...they are all SEAL's) said that his story is not accurate seems to show he has NOT set the record straight. Or maybe he is just calling all of those SEALs who went in the room before him a bunch of dishonorable liers...ya he was all about setting the record straight..

September 7, 2012 at 10:12 pm |

JK

yes the record straight...and the fact that he WASN't the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in the room and the fact that his commanding officer (be careful now...they are all SEAL's) said that his story is not accurate seems to show he has NOT set the record straight. Or maybe he is just calling all of those SEALs who went in the room before him a bunch of dishonorable liers...ya he was all about setting the record straight..

September 7, 2012 at 10:13 pm |

Monica Bosse

Has it occurred to you that the men who are still serving as Seals do not have to ability to go against the commander-in-chief and say what actually happened? The man who wrote the book is out of the service, the other men remain active duty. You say what you are told to say.

you must be his PR firm or something... the SEAL is a brotherhood that follow a chain of command and work as a team. Individual actions are bound to hurt team members. He is and was never deserving to be a member of such an elite group. He is a a one man band. Hope he sleeps well at night

The Navy SEAL foundation I heard is rejecting the money. You know why? because it is potential blood money. Your man is a disgrace to the finest elite squad in the world. Take your money cut for being his spokes woman and go on and enjoy your life

It would be appropriate to focus on India now in order to control the shift of axis of terror there. We need to stay ahead of the curve. The American invasion of Afghanistan brought to the forefront the irrelevance of India as a nation. With a population of over 1.2 billion people there was no value that this nation could bring to the table. Their soldiers (ragtag) 1.2 million continue hiding in the trenches scared from Talibans. A few teenage Talibans invaded the country and held it hostage for days on end showing how useless India is. It was embarrasing for the world to observe this humiliation of a nation that was being touted as a regional power.

We continue to read with interest the thesis presented on CNN that "less is more" in a political context as applied to India. Although Mies Van Der Rohe adopted this in an architectural context, its economic and political connotations are indeed powerful. Empowering subjugated minorities in India by splitting it into smaller states would trigger uber economic demand for western nations who have given so much financial and technology aid to India with no return to show for the investment. We concur with this approach and find the premise to be on solid footing. Central Asian States (CAS) are a case in point on this successful approach. We need to understand that India has an unmanageable large population mired in poverty and we are spinning our wheels trying to feed it. It is also too big of a geographical unit to govern. Again, we saw how a few teenage talibans were able to invade it with a few BB guns. And that says a lot... in a negative way not only for a large unmanageable country like India but also for USA which is trying to prop it up against China. Besides, Americans cannot afford to look like losers in the midst of a terror war which has lasted for over ten years now.

if he is so innocent and done nothing wrong, why are you so vehemently defending him? why not let the truth he has spoken defend him

September 7, 2012 at 9:14 pm |

Monica Bosse

Because so many on this forum are ready to – as one crazy put it – hang him for treason without A) ever reading the book; and B) without actually researching this man's story. The special ops community is near and dear to my heart (enough said there) and I will not stand back and have someone throw conjecture and uninformed speculation at the men who put it all on the line for the men and women of this country. I will not standby and let stupidity and politics impeach this man who, by his own admission, wrote this book knowing that he would draw the ire of the Pentagon and DOD for speaking the truth which did not align with the Party LIne.

September 7, 2012 at 11:57 pm |

Azael

Read the article, lynnmarrie2u. The lead SEAL hasn't said anything here; not a single quote do we find. So, yes, it is the Pentagon and other government officials telling us what they say he said.

You've obviously have never read a book written by a veteran before, its ok admit it, its nothing new. This is the first time people are giving this kind of thing attention, and what do ya know? They are attacking each other over what happened, nothing new buddy, get with it.

Wow, get a clue and actually read the defintion of Treason! Maybe a little pill would settle you...

September 7, 2012 at 8:28 pm |

2+2=5

Incorrect, start reading, and you'll find the truth out for yourself. First time this many people are paying attention, only reason for all this hype. "Greatest Generation", we are all great, we all do great things, the greatest generation enjoyed the luxury of chivalry, look it up, things have changed, get with the program.

Yes.... but no indication of what %..... my bet is he'll see the $$ come in and get even more greedy....

Regardless – many may disagree about details on the Bin Laden issue -many politicians WANTED the info released... (and then attacked Obama when he only let out a bit – go figure)

As for Bergdahls.... well, that info release is treasonous – Like Libby releasing the info on Plame.... for that reason he should be charged....If the enemy thinks a rescue is (or has) been considered, they will take extra precautions and be alert for longer....

I think the author has a manhood issue and wants to be more involved than he actually was – I know the type – I served with that type (albeit not in the SEALS to be clear) – They are the gung-ho crazies that (in those days) watched Rambo every week and acted the same way given any chance to do so...

September 7, 2012 at 8:39 pm |

AJ

At the end of the book, the author states that most if the proceeds are being donated to military charities, and he suggests 3 charities to donate to in memory of fallen Seals.

Pretty obvious you didn't read the book, and don't have any credibility.

I have not read the book. I read a report today that the Navy Seal Foundation has refused any money from this book. Good for them. This man violated his oath by publishing this book without proper review.

September 7, 2012 at 8:36 pm |

ShowMedaMoney

OBL is dead. If the Seals shot him in the back it would have been a good kill. Case closed!

Um, hate to tell you bub, but those SEALS are in the same military and work for the same government as that Admiral, and they both take orders from the same President.
Are you honestly dumb enough to believe that the book writer would have been allowed to give an accurate account of the event? He would be in prison if he gave up secret information to the public, and the fact that they haven't touched him is all the proof we need that his book isn't accurate.

September 7, 2012 at 8:57 pm |

Everyman

Then why have not any other SEALs come forward to corroborate this guys claim?

September 7, 2012 at 8:57 pm |

spock500

I take the account of the 4-star admiral and commanding officer of the the Navy SEALs over that of the greedy and narcissistic account of a disreputable Navy SEAL any day.

Nobody makes it that far up the ladder without jamming their nose up the butt of somebody higher up the ladder. Always been that way, always will be. In the entire article I didn't read any clear opposition to the facts as stated in the book, all I read was an attempt to sow some doubt. All they said was they don't 'think' he saw what the point saw. They said they 'don't know' if the first shots hit bin laden or not. The entire article was an amateur attempt at character assassination.

Yeah I guess the Navy Seal who was actually there had it all wrong, while the papper pushers at the Pentagon that were thousands of miles away and asked people well after the fact were right- Ha! Funny stuff. Sad thing is people will probably believe this load of horse manure because it is in the "news" so it must be true.

If the other members of Seal Team 6 are still on active duty, they would suffer hardships for collaborating Bissonette's account. Even if they were retired, why would they want to suffer ridicule for collaboating. There's no money in it for them.

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CNN's Security Clearance examines national and global security, terrorism and intelligence, as well as the economic, military, political and diplomatic effects of it around the globe, with contributions from CNN's national security team in Washington and CNN journalists around the world.